Tuatha
'History' In a time before the dawn of man, a time before the Hatek stepped upon their mountain home, and even before the dwarves erected their great underground citadels; a race of beings called the Elves roamed Emorta. They were hungry, but not for the needs of mortals, such as food and water, no, they hungered for purpose. Since their creation, a time they could scarcely remember, least of all hope to understand; they were nomads. They wandered Emorta relentlessly, searching for something, anything that could give them purpose. In their travels they stumbled upon a great forest, of the likes of which they as a race had never seen. Nothing they had seen could hope to match its splendor. The trees were ancient and massive, and had a presence, almost an awareness, unlike any the Elves had ever encountered; the undergrowth seemed to reach out to them, and even the soil seemed to acknowledge them. Despite all this, the place seemed to invite them, beckon them to explore its depths. After much deliberation, they ventured forth into the great forest, eager to learn of this place and its secrets. They searched long, this place was like a maze, constantly misdirecting them, almost as if it tested their resolve. One day, the forest finally relented, showing them a path to its deepest portion. It was there they found what they were seeking, a massive tree that reached up to the heavens, it was clearly older than anything they had seen in their travels; while it’s majestic form was intriguing, the true interest came from what happened next. It sang to them. It sang a song whose meaning escaped them, but whose beauty they could appreciate. It was a song made up of thoughts and experience, of sadness and joy, and it captivated them in a way that nothing in Emorta had. Upon hearing that song they knew this was their home, and that this was where they belonged. So they made their homes near to the great tree, and in time began to understand its song. It told them of its name, Tua Ton, Mother Tree. So in honor of their great matron, they named themselves Tuatha, and swore themselves to be her servants throughout all time. 'Culture' The Tuatha live in a very cloistered society, and until recently (by Tuatha standards) have rarely left their forests. It was not until Tua Ton expressed the desire that her children see the rest of the world that they ventured from their forest, for the first time in thousands of years. The Tuatha share ancestral knowledge, with the Mother Tree acting as a sort of hub for their knowledge. The Tuatha are able access their ancestral knowledge when they are within the forest, as that is the range they must be within to speak to Tua Ton. The Tuatha are very isolationist in nature, rarely ever allowing people to enter their domain, especially uninvited. Because of this, they are staunch and able defenders of their woodland home. Many an explorer has fallen to Tuatha bows in their attempts to probe the great wood. Tuatha culture communicates very differently from many of the races of Emorta, using telepathy for the majority of their communications, and only using the voice for the benefit of outsiders, a rare occurrence, or in song. As such, it is hard for outsiders to understand the Tuatha, many fear them for their isolationism and tendency to kill outsiders on sight. Contrary to popular belief however, the Tuatha hold no ill will towards the other races of Emorta, they only wish to protect their woodland home from aggression. In spite of their somewhat overzealous defense of their homeland, the Tuatha are a very gentle people in many ways. They are musically inclined, as music is one of the precious few times that the Tuatha use their voices, and as such is considered a sacred and honored occasion. They are also very much in tune with the flora and fauna of their land, they view themselves as the children of the land and also its friends, and therefore they greatly value life, and are saddened when they are forced to take it. While to some this may seem like a contradiction, it is the Tuatha way to do everything in their power to defend Tua Ton, even if it means to take life. The average Tuatha life spawn is anywhere from 600-800 years. When it is time for a Tuatha to die, they must make their way back to Tua Ton, once there, they begin a trek outward from their mother, weaving their way through the great forest of those that came before them. When they reach the edge, the simply lie down and accept their fate. In three days time a great tree will spring from their corpse, expanding upon the great forest and returning them to the earth, as they would wish. This is known as the Return, a Tuatha can resist the Return, but if it struggles against its fate for too long, it will begin to go mad, and become a violent mockery of all that it once was. Unable to find a peaceful death, the Tuatha will wander, harming all in it’s path until its eventual destruction at the hands of an outside force. 'Religion and Government' Tuatha religion is naturally centered around the Worship of Tua Ton, and is closely entwined with Tuathan government. At the top of the hierarchy is the Kar, or Father, he is the single Tuatha who speaks directly to Tua Ton. A Kar is chosen when the previous Kar has Returned, the next Kar is chosen by Tua Ton directly, through telepathy. After the next Kar is installed he chooses his three Disciples. The Disciples exist to protect the Kar and alleviate him of much of the responsibilities of governing the Tuatha. The Disciples, when chosen, form a triumvirate in which they vote on matters of governance, should one of their decisions displease the Kar, he is permitted to dispose of it. 'Military' The Tuatha are not a warlike people, however, they are fiercely protective of their territory, this is where the Rangers come in. The Rangers are the fierce protectors of Tuatha lands, they guard Tuatha borders from unwelcome guests with deadly efficiency. They are some of the deadliest marksmen in all of Emorta, they are known to kill entire expedition teams before they even know they’re under attack. They are masters of guerrilla warfare, using the terrain of their woodland home to great advantage. They are the first and last line of defense for Tua Ton, and will stop at nothing to keep their matron safe from harm. Before one can join the ranks of the Rangers they must first construct their own bow. While a seemingly simple task, not any bow will do, those seeking to join this ancient order must venture within the cave of the great spider Ishara, and retrieve their bowstring. Should they succeed in escaping the great creature with string in hand, they must then sing the wood from Tua Ton, with a song that has been sung by their people for centuries. Once their bow is finished, they are then inducted into the ranks of the Rangers as a recruit, and will serve as the great protectors of the Tuatha homeland. When war does come however, the Tuatha will not simply stand by and allow themselves to be battered and beaten over and over again, no, when war comes their great matron Tua Ton possesses the Kar and leads her people in war against the threats against their home. Those who forget the ferocity of a Tuatha led by their god will soon learn the meaning of the word fear. 'Architecture' The Tuatha live among the trees, they communicate with the tree’s via telepathy and ask them for permission to live within them, the trees then create the Tuatha dwelling and welcome to their new home. The Tuatha “buildings” are usually hard to distinguish from the trees, they come in a variety of shapes, from alcoves in a tree’s trunk or as a hanging wooden dwelling from a great branch, the possibilities are endless, and all depend on how the tree in question wishes to accommodate their Tuatha friends. 'Appearance' The Tuatha have come to look much like their surroundings, whether this was a natural change or from the effect of living so close to Tua Ton is unknown; regardless, the Tuatha’s skin is that of the trees, bark. The colour of their bark ranges from dark brown to white, depending upon the colour of their parents. The Tuatha maintain their hair from their time as elves, and it can be of any color. As they age, more and more plants grow upon them. Small maple saplings will grow from their skin, moss will accumulate on their bodies, with age the Tuatha become a conduit of new life.